Washington residents have been revealed to smoke an estimated 50 joints per year as a new study finds that they smoke more than double the amount officials originally predicted.

The state approved the use of medical and non-medical marijuana in December of last year, and at the time the state agency in charge of regulating sales licenses for the drug expected residents to consume 85 metric tons per year.

Now a national think tank has released the findings of a study where they discovered that the state's more than 6.8 million residents consumed closer to 175 metric tons this year.

Growing pains: Officials originally thought Washington residents consumed 85 metric tons per year but a new survey puts that number closer to 175 metric tons

The study, compiled by The Rand Corporation, was tasked with determining an accurate amount of marijuana consumed so that the Washington State Liquor Control Board can sign off on the correct amount of sales licenses.

The nature of drug sales made it difficult to even pin down the general sales estimate, as they said it could be anywhere between 135 and 225 metric tons, and chose 175 metric tons as the general total as it is the median.

The Washington Office of Financial Management based their original guess of 85 metric tons on sales data from 2008 and 2009 which said that there were 363,000 people who bought pot during the month before the survey was conducted.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

That number went up to 556,000 people in 2010 and 2011, explaining the increased estimate as reported by the Rand Corporation.

'Updated federal data and information we collected from marijuana users in Washington prompted us to conclude that consumption is significantly larger than previously estimated,' said the study's author Beau Kilmer.

Time Magazine points out that such a difference in valuations- with the state-wide consumption jumping from 85 metric tons to 175 metric tons is as if each resident went from smoking 25 joints per year to smoking 50 per year.

Licensing: The survey results is going to be used to determine how many selling licenses should be given out

'There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding marijuana market estimates, but our work used new insights and novel data collection tools to improve upon previous efforts,' Mr Kilmer said.

The study was conducted because the state must strike the right balance between selling too much and too little marijuana.

The fear that comes with selling too little is that unlicensed dealers will spring up to meet the need, while if too much is sold the price will be driven down and could lead to more people traveling to Washington from out of state for the drug.

Washington is one of two states that currently legally sells marijuana, with Colorado being the other. There are 10 other states that allow the legal sale of medical marijuana and have decriminalized possession.

'Nobody knows what’s going to happen. We’re the pioneers here,' Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown told Time about their development of untested laws.

'It’s been a grind, and it’s not over. We’re going to ride herd on this industry and on these regulations. If we don’t work, we’re going to change them. And there will be gaps.'